Athletes find strange ways of overcoming things that can plague them. Carolina Panthers’ defensive end Thomas Keiser has found a very different way of avoiding dehydration while battling the heat and humidity in Spartanburg, SC. It is unknown if it could lead to a green leafy afro.

“People ask me all the time if it’s the same stuff that’s in Chia Pets. It is,” Keiser said. “I’ll have probably two or three tablespoons in somewhere between two-thirds and a full gallon of water every day.”

While his teammates continuously ride him about the odd practice, he doesn’t allow it to bother him, because he is seeing results.

“It helps hydrate you, because it absorbs 10 times its weight in water,” Keiser said. “And instead of the water just going in your system and flushing right out, it’s going to sit in you longer.

“Most of the guys think I’m pretty weird for carrying that around. I just keep telling them it’s like Mike’s Magic Juice in ‘Space Jam’.”

This may sound like an odd choice by Keiser, but consumption of Chia seeds is not a new thing. The ancient Mayans used to eat them, dating back to 3500 BC. It was as staple of their culture, kinda like beans. In addition to providing help with hydration, they are also a considered a superfruit, or in this case, as superseed. They help to deliver nutrient and antioxidants, similar to flax-seed.